Less is more

Mohamed Sanu saw firsthand last year the cumulative effects the Wildcat had on his body. Once an explosive playmaker at wide receiver, the then-sophomore took hit after hit as the Rutgers football team’s anemic running game sputtered.

And Sanu floundered through a sophomore campaign featuring more ailments than dynamic plays.

“You’re not as fast,” he said. “You’re not as explosive as you want to be. You’re not as strong as you’d like to be.”

Offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti’s arrival in Piscataway this offseason signaled the end of the Wildcat, which lost its luster when the Scarlet Knights failed to consistently move the ball on the ground.

The banged-up Sanu returned to his usual spot on the perimeter during spring practices, and nearly a half year later, returned to the top of the Knights’ stat sheet.

The South Brunswick native recorded an astronomical 36 receptions through only three games, leading the nation in the category.

He caught passes crossing the middle. He hauled in balls over his head. And Sanu produced on third downs.

His highlight reel catches landed him on ESPN, and his dependability earned sophomore quarterback Chas Dodd’s favor. Even the Big East took notice last week, when Sanu’s league-best 16 catches earned him Offensive Player of the Week honors.

“If we keep having games like that with our receivers, then more Best Offensive Player of the Week [awards are] to come,” Dodd said. “I’m excited to see how many we can get. He works hard, and he deserved it.”

Sanu worked during the offseason on becoming a more complete player, he said, and not only a receiving threat.

With the Wildcat scrapped, he had the luxury to do so.

“I’d be in the receiving meeting room, but I would have certain other times,” Sanu said of his workload. “I would come back during the day and go over certain things that pertained to the Wildcat.”

The hardest part of Sanu’s dual roles was the prospect of lining up under center on one play and following up split out wide, he said.

The responsibility hindered his connection with Dodd, but now that is not the case.

“One of the big things is me and him have more time to throw together,” Dodd said. “Last year, when he wasn’t doing Wildcat, we worked together as receiver and quarterback, but now he’s never doing it.”

With Sanu banged up, head coach Greg Schiano turned to Jeremy Deering last season to command the Wildcat. But the results did not complement a traditional running game.

Deering scored a touchdown out of the formation last season against Syracuse, and Sanu threw a touchdown under center at the Carrier Dome as a freshman, but the novelty wore off.

Now-fullback Joe Martinek dealt with lingering injuries, and the Knights’ rushing troubles loomed too large for Schiano to nix the formation completely.

The 11th-year head coach restored the offense to its pro-style roots in the offseason, and Sanu remained its No. 1 threat.

“The thing I love about our scheme is that our quarterback has a progression,” Schiano said. “If somebody takes away Mohamed, then that means somebody else is going to be available.”

Through three games, opposing defenses could not lay claim to the feat.

“If you use your technique the way [wide receivers] coach [P.J.] Fleck teaches me, they shouldn’t be able to guard you,” Sanu said.

The task proved elusive to Ohio last week, but Syracuse defensive coordinator Scott Shafer knows Sanu’s game-changing ability all too well.

He witnessed Sanu throw the Knights’ only touchdown pass two years ago, and he noticed how injuries relegated Sanu to a reserve role last season in Piscataway.

He likely saw on tape Sanu’s re-awakening this season, which surprised even Sanu.

“I didn’t expect it at all, but you just have to be able to adjust to it and keep on going,” Sanu said.

By all measures, he does not show signs of slowing down any time soon, especially with the Wildcat in the rearview mirror.